SotB XLII: In the Clutches of COMPNOR, Part I
When two of their comrades are captured by the Empire, the Broker's agents must negotiate with the man who destroyed their headquarters on Corellia. To save their friends, they must hand over an ally to COMPNOR..." Agents Team Eddo Recording * Alro * Chim Chim * Derra Asbra * Eve * Gerold * Gristle * Hack * Jokan Benn * Makren Duvel * R0C-K4 * (Rogesh Vai) * (Saber Scintel) * Tortie Misson Report Summary by Ben While restocking the facilities at Altar Mountain, N1-M3 receives a transmission that has apparently been broadcast across the galaxy. In it, Captain COMPNOR requests that the Broker turn over Jeppo Eddo in exchange for Rogesh and Saber, who are still missing after the Empire’s assault on Zygerria. The agents immediately contact the Broker for his opinion, and he explains that he and Jeppo Eddo have had an agreement for a while in place for just such an occasion. However, Jeppo Jr. and Sr. have both been missing for a little while, and Jeppo Jr. might resist the idea. If the crew were to find Jeppo Eddo, the Broker offers the phrase “remember your daughter” as a form of leverage in the potential negotiation. During the discussion, the agents receive a call from Renci Tosh, who has also picked up the widespread message. She offers some intel that some of her colleagues have dug up in recent days: reports of a zygerrian matching Saber’s description being taken to an Imperial facility on the planet Cyphar. The rebels already have an agent planted in the facility and are planning an infiltration, which she proposes as an opportunity for the Broker to work together with the Alliance for mutual gain. The plan in place would involve human and human-like agents posing as recruits and meeting up with the planted contact in order to investigate and potentially sabotage the facility’s operations. Jokan, Gerold, Derra, Makren and Hack are tasked with the infiltration while Gristle, Chim, Tortie, Alro and R0C handle tracking down Jeppo Sr. They decide to start by calling up Reom of Isotech, whom Jeppo was last seen working with before disappearing altogether. Reom doesn’t seem to have much information, other than that Jeppo was very secretive during his stint and that attacks on Isotech ships seemed to increase while he was with them. One day, he took a chartered shuttle away from Iso-One to a coreward world along with Jeppo Jr. and left no sign of his intent. With little else to go on, the agents head to Corellia in order to meet with Jonas Talbor, the leader of the Droid Liberation Cooperative, who is a friend of Jeppo Eddo. They arrange a meeting and head planetside to see what Talbor might know about Jeppo’s disappearance or his potential intent. On the way, they pick up a few items from the nearby shops while heading to the River Den cantina, where the meeting is to take place. Jonas greets the group and directs them to a booth to sit down. When asked about Jeppo, he seems nervous and explains that many people have been looking for Jeppo since he left Corellia. The agents explain that Jeppo is in imminent danger from the Empire, and that they are going to unusual lengths to get their hands on him. Jonas seems friendly, for the most part, but also skeptical of Eve, given the potential for Imperial espionage. Gristle succeeds in calming his nerves and stresses the extent of the threat by mentioning the transmission that COMPNOR had sent out several days prior, citing it as an example of the Empire’s desperation in their search for the droid engineer. Jonas sees the urgency and admits that he is still in contact with Jeppo, and that if the agents do need to find him, they should head to Abregado Rae and seek out the painter Dawnweaver. Just then, several cyborgs stand up across the cantina, recognizing Chim and Tortie from their last mission helping out the DLC. They swear revenge and charge across with cybernetic weapons. One of the cyborg thugs lashes at R0C with his sawblade arm, but fails to pierce the droid’s cortosis hide. Chim and Tortie open fire at one of the charging gangers, gunning him down before he can cross the room. Another takes cover behind a table and opens fire with a blaster built into his arm, landing a painful shot on Tortie. Alro immediately heads to the bar in the meantime, grabbing some bottles off the bar to try to mix up an incendiary cocktail. She manages to find an especially effective combination and mixes up four bottles - one for each arm. At the same time, one of the cyborgs charges Eve, but his sawblade strike narrowly misses. However, his friend manages to slice into her, making a thin gash. Gristle, who had strapped on his gauntlets, runs across to help Eve, but swings just short of the attacking thug. She turns and throws one of them to the floor. Meanwhile, across the bar, R0C slashes cleanly through one of the assailants. Alro launches one of the makeshift firebombs, which shatters on the floor at the feet of two of the cyborgs and sets them on fire. Chim immediately fires, finishing one of the burning ones off. The cyborg that R0C had mortally slashed staggers back and shoots R0C before falling. Chim takes a shot to his leg, re-injuring it critically. Eve knocks one of the cyborgs back across a table, and Gristle vaults after him, finally landing a few strikes with his clawed gauntlets. The cyborgs are cleaned up in short order, but the cantina is left in a state of chaos. With their business on Corellia taken care of and a new lead in sight, the agents leave quickly and set a course for Abregado Rae. Upon landing, the agents immediately set about looking for the Dawnweaver. It doesn’t take them long to hear talk of an elderly man whose painting has become very popular in recent years. They’re pointed toward his studio and immediately go to visit. Jeppo Sr. greets the agents with surprise, Gristle cuts to the chase, mentioning the Broker’s deal with Jeppo Sr. The old man remembers and seems hesitant, but R0C introduces the phrase “remember your daughter” that the Broker had suggested during the briefing. Jeppo Sr. is swayed by the mention and nods, agreeing to do as the Broker has requested. However, Jeppo Jr. adamantly opposes the idea, even stepping between the agents and his father. R0C steps in to convince his fellow droid to stand down, and Jeppo Jr. reluctantly agrees. Gristle does is best to comfort him with gifts of painting supplies and promises that they will do their best to ensure that the two will remain in contact. Gristle also offers to help Jeppo Jr. with his artistic endeavors. After a fond farewell, the agents take Jeppo Eddo with them, leaving his ‘son’ on Abregado Rae. Loaded onto the Sunflare, they key in and jump toward the rendezvous point at Eriadu, but are immediately snared by a tractor beam after emerging from hyperspace. SotB 042